THE NAGALAND STRUGGLE:
NAGAS AND DRAVIDIANS
N.Nandhivarman
The
Nagaland struggle is based on few beliefs. “The Nagas who inhibit the land of Nagaland India India India
“Prior
to 1947 Indian subcontinent was a group of over 560 princely states ruled by
various Maharajas or Kings. When the Maharaja or King of such state fell the
whole state became a conquered territory. For that matter Maratha Empire or any
other princely states could be considered as legitimate Indian Territory after
1947 not just because they voluntarily conceded to be a party to the Indian Republic
Quoting
from Phizo’s letter to then Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi dated May 10 of
1986 further adds “Jawaharlal Nehru understood this fact clearly. On August 19,
1946 in connection with proposed British colony of Coupland he described the
Naga territories as the tribal areas defined as being long frontiers of India,
which are neither part of India nor Burma nor of Indian states nor of any
foreign power” The British on the eve of their departure from India toyed with
the idea of setting up a crown colony comprising all the eastern peoples of the
North Eastern region who were neither Burmese or Indian.
The
Coupland plan would have created a crown colony with an area of 1,50,000 square miles comprising Nagas,Karens,Kachins,Shans,Chins,Mons, and even Mizos, Khasis
and Assamese people.
Such was the ground reality in Naga areas whereas India
The
then Foreign Secretary of India K.P.S.Menon described the situation of India on the pre-independence years “When the
British left India , the
unity of even divided India India ,
to accede to Pakistan India
Close
on the heels of British Prime Minister Atlee’s policy announcement of February
20 1947, about Her Majesty’s Government decision to withdraw from India
Sir
Conrad Corfield, the Secretary of the Political Department seemed to be toying
with the India India
It is
irony of fate that the Indian Union in sixties faced with the ever growing mass
acceptance of separate Dravida Nadu demand continuing even after so many years
of freedom from British on the plank of North neglecting South, in order to ban
the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the political party headed by Aringnar Anna,
constituted a National Integration Committee to collect views of people under
the Chairmanship of Sir C.P.Ramasamy Iyer, who once unfurled the banner of
revolt against Indian Union. The Malaimani, DMK’s weekly collected signatures with blood, and more than 50,000
signatures were sent to Sir.C.P.Ramasamy Committee on National Integration.
This single incidence proves how certain chameleons change fast their colors
and enjoy the fruits in every form of governance.
To
illustrate the case how many princely states fell for Indian Union, let us take
the example of Bastar, now a district in Madya Pradesh of India Hyderabad India India
It is
a great achievement, particularly of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who took less
than two and half years for the integration of princely states in Indian Union.
The Indian bureaucracy did not match him can be proven by citing one example of
their failure to resolve a thorny issue between Bangladesh and Indian Union, in
spite of the euphoria over India aiding the creation of Bangladesh.
“The rulers
of Kooch Bihar and Rangpur within the Old Bengal Presidency lost their territories
to each other playing the gambling by cards. There are till date 111 Indian
enclaves in Bangladesh and
51 Bangladesh enclaves
within India
Yet
no one had the moral courage of Sardar Patel to resolve even this issue which
every government keeps in cold storage. The border dispute and Kashmir dispute, why even the Nagaland issue evades a
settlement, and we are not supposed to blame anyone in our democracy.
The
emergence of every nation has its own stories which had not seen the light of
history. Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru in page 224 of his book The Glimpses of World
History narrates the story of China
:”
The administration of Mongol empire must have been a very difficult task. It is
not surprising therefore that it began to split. Kublai Khan died in 1292.
After him there was no great Khan. The Empire divided up into big areas.The
Empire of China included Mongolia ,
Manchuria and Tibet
To
the far west of Russia , Poland and Hungary
In Persia and Mesopotamia and part of Central Asia
there was a great Turkey
Between
the Mongolia
Mongol
Empire was split up each of these five divisions it was a mighty empire.”
This
is the story of Mongol empire, its later day disintegration and again
unification as China China or Kashmir still bleeds India
To
the readers, the statement Tamils ruled India
“It
is thus clear that the Nagas and Dravidians are one and the same people. Even
with much proof, people may not be found ready to accept this thesis. The chief
difficulty in the way of accepting it lies in the designation of the people of South India by the name Dravidian. It is natural for them
to ask why the term Dravidian has come to be restricted to the people of South India if they are really Nagas. Critics are bound
to ask: If the Dravidians and Nagas are the same people, why the name Nagas not
used to designate people of South India also.
This is no doubt a puzzle. But it is a puzzle which is not beyond solution. It
can be solved if certain facts are borne in mind. The first thing to be borne
in mind is the situation regarding language. Today the language of Southern
India differs from that of the people of North India .”
“The
second thing to be borne into mind is that the word Dravida is not an original
word. It is the Sanskriti zed form of the word Tamil. The original word Tamil
when imported into Sanskrit became Damita and later on Damila became Dravida.
The word Dravida is the name of the language of the people and does not denote
the race of the people.
The
third thing to remember is that Tamil or Dravida was not merely the language of
South India but before the Aryans came it was the language of the whole of India and was spoken from Kashmir
to Kanyakumari. In fact it was the language of the Nagas throughout India
The
next thing to note is the contact between Aryan and the Nagas and the effect it
produced on Nagas and their language. Strange as it may appear the effect of
this contact on the Nagas of North India was quite different from the effect it
produced on the Nagas of South India. The Nagas in North
India gave up Tamil which was their mother tongue and adopted
Sanskrit in its place. The Nagas in South India
retained Tamil as their mother tongue and did not adopt the Sanskrit language
of the Aryans.
If
this difference is borne in mind it will help to explain why the name Dravida
came to be applied only for the people of South India .
The necessity for the application of the name Dravida to the Nagas of North
India had ceased because they had ceased to speak the Dravida Language. The
special application of the use of the word Dravida for the people of South India must not therefore obscure the fact that the
Nagas and Dravidas are one and the same people. They are only two different
names for the same people. Nagas was a racial or cultural name and Dravida was
their linguistic name” concluded Dr.B.R.Ambedkar.
Dr.B.R.Ambedkar
had tried to explain these questions “We often come across four names
Dravidians, Dasas, Nagas and Aryans. What do these names indicate? These
questions have never been considered. Are these names Aryans, Dravidians,
Dasas, and Nagas the names of different races or are they merely different names
for a people of same race?
“The
general assumption is that they are different names. It is an assumption on
which theories like that of Mr. Rice, which seek to explain the social
structure of the Hindu Society, particularly its class basis, are built. Before
such a theory is accepted it is necessary to examine its foundations. Starting
with the Aryans it is beyond dispute that they were not a single homogeneous
people. They were divided into two sections is beyond dispute. One of them may
be called Rig Vedic Aryans and the other Atharva Vedic Aryans. Their cultural
cleavage appears to be complete. The Rig Vedic Aryans believed in Yajna. The
Atharva Vedic Aryans believed the Magis. Their mythologies were different, The
Rig Vedic Aryans believed in Deluge and the creation of their race from Manu.
The Atharva Vedic Aryans did not believe in Deluge but believed in the creation
of their race from Brahma or Prajapathi. Their literary developments also lay
along different paths. The Rig Vedic Aryans produced Brahmanas, Sutras and
Aranyakas.
The
Atarvavedic Aryans produced the Upanishads. Their cultural conflict was not so
great that the Rig Vedic Aryans would not for long time admit the sanctity of
the Atharvaveda nor of the Upanishads and when they did recognize it did they
call it Vedanta. Vedanta which contrary to the current meaning of the word
namely essence of Vedanta originally meant something outside the boundary of
Vedas and therefore, not as sacred as the Vedas. Whether these two sections of
Aryans were two different races we do not know. We do not know whether the word
Aryan is indicative of race. Historians therefore made a mistake in proceeding
on the assumption that the Aryans were a separate race.”
“A
greater mistake lies in differentiating the Dasas from the Nagas. The Dasas are
same as Nagas. Dasas is merely another name for Nagas. It is not difficult to
understand how the Nagas came to be called Dasas in Vedic literature. Dasa is
Sanskritized form of the Indo-Iranian word Dahaka. Dahaka was the name of the
King of the Nagas.
{The
detailed inputs with regards to this are in the Paper presented by Miss
Karunakara Gupta to the Third Session of Indian History Congress -1939 titled
Nagas and Naga Cult in Ancient Indian History.]
“Consequently
the Aryans called the Nagas after the name of their king Dahaka, which in
Sanskrit form became Dasa a generic name applied to all the Nagas”, says
Dr.B.R.Ambedkar in his book The Untouchables.
Having
arrived to the scene where Nagas are also known as Dasa, we are wondering
whether the names Bharathidasan, Kannadasan, Ramadasan, Vanidasan etc wherever
the surname was used as Dasa has more inner meaning than what could be read at
the outset. My grandfather is Ramadas, then I can also claim of being a Dasa. I
am also a Naga. My father’s name is Nagarattinam and if I could use his initial
in Tamizh my name had to be spelt as Naga. Nandhivarman. My sister’s name is
Dr.Naga.Sengamala Thayar. Such similarities apart we have plenty of places
within India called
Nagapattinam, Nagore, and Nagpur and so on
proving the all India
Let
us first finish the detailed analysis of the Father of Indian Constitution
Dr.B.R.Ambedkar before dealing many such similarities.
“Who
were the Nagas? Undoubtedly they were Non_Aryans. A careful study of Vedic
literature reveals a spirit of conflict, of a dualism, and a race for
superiority between two distinct types of culture and thought. In the Rig-Veda,
we are first introduced to the Snake God in the form of Ahi Vitra, the enemy of
the Aryan God Indra. Naga, the name under which the snake-god was to become so
famous in later days, does not appear in early Vedic literature. Even when it
does for the first time in Sathapatha Brahmana [XI.2, 7, 12] it is not clear
whether a great snake or a great elephant is meant. But this does not conceal
the nature of Ati Vitra, since he is described always in Rig-Veda as the
serpent who lay around or hidden in waters, and is holding a full control over
the waters of heaven and earthlike.”
“It
is also evident from the hymns that refer to Ati Vitra, that he received no
worship from the Aryan tribes and was only regarded as an evil spirit of
considerable power who must be fought down.” So goes on Dr.Ambedkar.
It is
becoming evident that Snake cult as seen in the snake around the neck of Lord
Shiva or in the snake bed floating in the ocean of milk where Lord Vishnu is
holidaying, is not an Aryan element but a Non-Aryan element. In every temple
near the trees, people worship the Snake God. Since to segregate these worship
forms from the worship forms of Aryans is highly laborious and impossible job,
Periyar E,V.Ramasamy wanted to throw all gods and goddesses into the dustbin of
past.
Dr.B.R.Ambedkar’s
narration of Naga history follows: “The mention of Naga in Rig-Veda shows that
the Nagas were ancient people. It must also be remembered that the Nagas in no
way an aboriginal or uncivilized people. History shows very close intermarriage
between the Naga people and Royal families of India
Virakurcha, who according to another Pallava
inscription dated in the 9 th century A.D was the ruler of the dynasty, is also
mentioned in the same inscription as having married a Nagi and obtained from
her the insignia of royalty. The marriage of Gautamiputra, the son of the
Vakataka King Pravarsena with the daughter of Bharasiva King Bhava Naga, is a
historical fact. So is the marriage of Chandragupta II with Princess Kuvera
Naga of Naga kula. A Tamil poet asserts that Kokkilli, an early Chozha king had
married a Naga princess. Rajendra Chozha is also credited to have won by his
radiant beauty the hand of the noble daughter of Naga race.
The
Navasahasanka Charita describes the marriage of the Paramara king Sindhuraja,
who seems to have reigned towards the early part of the 10 th century A.D, with
Naga princess Sasiprabha, with such exhaustive details in so matter of fact
manner as to make us almost feel certain that there must have been some
historical basis for this assertion. From the Harsha inscription of
V.S.1030-973 A.D we know that Guvaka I, who is the sixth king in the genealogy
upwards from Vigraharaja Chahamana and thus might be supposed to have been
ruling towards the middle of 9 th century was famous as hero in the assemblies
of the Nagas and other princes. Santikara of the Bhaumn dynasty of Orissa, one
of whose dates was most probably 921 A.D is mentioned in an inscription of his
son as having married Thirubuvana Mahadevi of the Naga family. Not only did
Naga people occupy a high cultural level but history shows that the ruled a
good part of India
This
and more evidences produced by the scholarly presentation of Dr.B.R.Ambedkar
will run into pages and make this paper into a book
Mr.Dikshithar
in his paper South India in Ramayana says “The Nagas, another tribe in semi
divine character with their totems as serpent spread throughout India from Taksasila in the North
West to Assam
in the North East and to Ceylon
and South India in the South. At one time they
must have been powerful. Contemporaneous with the Yakwas or perhaps subsequent
to their fall as political entity, the Nagas rose to prominence in South India . Not only parts of Ceylon South Travancore is dedicated to Naga worship even today.
All that can be said about them is that they were a sea faring tribe. Their
womenfolk were renowned for their beauty. Apparently Nagas had become merged with
the Cheras who rose to power and prominence at the commencement of Christian
era.
Mr.C.F.Oldham
in The Sun and Serpent states:
“The
Dravidian people have been divided from ancient times into Cheras, Cholas and
Pandyas. Chera or Sera [in old Tamizh sarai] is the Dravidian equivalent for
Naga. Cheramandala, Nagadwipa or the Naga country. This seems to point
distinctly to the Asura origin of the Dravidians of South. But in addition to
this there still exists, widely spread over the Ganges
valley, a people who call themselves Cherus or Seoris, who claim descent from
serpent gods. The Cherus are of very ancient race, they are believed to have
once held a great portion of the valley
of Ganges
The
Cherus have several peculiar customs and amongst them one which seems to
connect them with the Lichhavis, as well as with the Newars of Nepal. This is
the election of a raja for every five or six houses, and his investiture, in
due form, with the tilak or royal frontal mark. Both Lichavis and Newars had
many customs in common with the Dravidians of the South. Each venerated the
serpent. Karkota Naga being to Nepal
what Nila Naga was to Kashmir . A Naga too, was
the tutelary deity of Vaishali, the Lichchavi capital. The martial relations of
Newars and Lichavis closely resembled those of Tamil people and go far to show
a common origin.
Property
amongst Newars descended in the female line, as it once did amongst the
Arattas, Bahikas or Takhas of the Punjab ,
whose sister’s sons, and not their own, were their heirs. This is still a
Dravidian custom. In short, a recent Dravidian writer Mr.Balakrishna Nayar says
that his people appear to be in nearly every particular, the kinsfolk of the
Newars. Besides all this, however, there are other links connecting the Naga
people of the South with those of the North of India. In an inscription
discovered by Colonel Toad at Kanswah near the river Chambal, a Raja, Called
Salindra of the race of Sarya, a tribe renowned amongst the tribes of the
mighty is said to be the ruler of Takhya. This was evidently the Takhya kingdom
of the Punjab which was visited by
Hiou-en-tsiang. It seems Naga people of Takhya were known also by the name
Sarya. Again in the outer Himalayas between Sutlej and Beas
valleys, is a tract of country called Sara or Seoraj. In this district the Naga
demigods are the chief deities worshipped. There is another Seoraj in the upper
Chinab valley, and this is too occupied by a Naga worshipping people.
The
name Saraj or Seoraj appears to be same as the Sarya of Colonel Tod’s
inscription and as Seori, which is the alternative name of the Cherus of the Ganges valley. It seems to be identical with Sarai, which
we have already seen, is the old name for the Chera or Naga. Apparently
therefore the Saryas or Takhya, the Saraj people of the Sutlej valley, the
Seoris or Cherus of the valley of Ganges, and the Cheras, Seras or Keralas of
Southern India, are but different branches of the same Naga worshipping people.
It
may be noted that in some Himalayan dialects, Kira or Kiri means serpent. This
name from which was perhaps derived the term Kirate so often applied to the
people of Himalayas . is found in
Rajatarangani, where it is applied to a people in or near Kashmir .
The Kiras are mentioned by Viraha Mihira in the copper plate published by
Professor Keilhorn.
An
inscription at the Baijnath Temple in the Kangra Valley Himalaya were closely related to the Dravidian Kera,
Cheras, or Kerals of South. Similarity of name is not always to be trusted, but
here we have something more. These people, whose designation is thus apparently
the same, are all of solar race, they are all venerating the hooded serpent,
and they all worship, as ancestors, the Naga demigods.
From
the foregoing it would seem tolerably certain that the Dravidian of Southern
India were of the same stock as the Nagas or Asuras of the North.”
So
far we had dealt extensively quoting lengthy passages from Dr.B.R.Amebedkar and
from the sources he relied upon to arrive at a new fact. It is been a difficult
task to match the genius who had logically presented his views arguing like an
effective lawyer of history. Hence instead of quoting few lines, the necessity
arose to quote pages.
Dr.B.R.Ambedkar
is a genius who had dealt in depth about the racial question that dominates
Indian history, society and political space. In his collected works Volume 7
Ambedkar wrote about the Shudra history quoting extensively from Vedic texts.
He
says “The Aryan race theory is so absurd that it ought to have been dead long
ago. But far from being dead the theory has a considerable hold upon the
people. There are two explanations which account for this phenomenon. The first
explanation is to be found in the support which this theory receives from the
Brahmin scholars. This is very strange phenomenon. As Hindus, they should
ordinarily show a dislike for the Aryan theory with its express avowal of the
superiority of the European races over the Asiatic races. But the Brahmin
scholar has not only no such aversion but he most willingly hails it. The
reasons are obvious. The Brahmin believes in the two nation theory. He claims
to be the representative of the Aryan race and he regards the rest of Hindus as
descendents of non-Aryans. The theory helps him to establish his kinship with
the European races and share their arrogance and superiority. He likes
particularly that part of the theory which makes the Aryan an invader and a
conqueror of non-Aryan races. For it helps him to maintain and justify his over
lordship over the non-Brahmins.” [Page 80 Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar Writings and
Speeches published by Education Department of Government of Maharashtra
in 1990]
It
has become imperative to deal the Aryan theory first before we arrive at the
Dravidian or Naga racial theories. The new light shed by Dr.Ambedkar will be of
immense help to understand the racial question and the subsequent racial
conflict that dominates Indian minds for some centuries.
“The
second explanation why the Aryan race theory is not dead is because of the
general insistence by European scholars that the word varna means color and
acceptance of the view by a majority of Brahmin scholars. Indeed this is the
mainstay of the Aryan theory. There is no doubt that as long as this
interpretation of the varna continues to be accepted, the Aryan theory will
continue to live “wrote Ambedkar on 10 th October 1946.
That
is in Indian context. Till date more particularly in Tamilnadu the mindset had not changed even in times when
scientists debate whether there is a genetic basis for race. Scientists say it
is nothing more than political prejudice, and let us examine the ground
reality.
“The
genetic basis of race ad the superiority of one of them over the other died a
sudden death during the 1936 Aryan Supremacy Olympics in Berlin United States
The
color prejudice myth must have to be exposed. Professor Ripley in his book
Races of Europe [page 466] asserts that earliest Europeans were of dark complexion.
“We are strengthened in this assumption that the earliest Europeans were not
only long headed but also dark complexioned, by various points of enquiry thus
far. Judged therefore either in the light of general principles or of local
details, it would seem as if the earliest race in Europe
must have been very dark.
“
It is
a matter of concern how color prejudice created castes in India
Dr.B.R.Ambedkar
says “ Turning to the Vedas for any indication whether the Aryans had any color
prejudice, in Rig Veda i.117.8 there is a reference to Ashvins having brought
about the marriage between Shyavya and Rushati. Shyavya is black and Rushati is
fair.
In
Rig Veda i.117.5 there is a prayer addressed to Ashvins for having saved
Vandana who is spoken as of golden color. I Rig Veda ii.3.9 there is a prayer
by an Aryan invoking the Devas to bless him with a son with certain virtues but
of [pishanga] tawny [reddish brown] complexion.
These
incidents, Ambedkar say shows that the Vedic Aryans had no color prejudice. How
could they have? The Vedic Aryans were not of one color. Their complexion
varied, some were of copper complexion, some white and some black. Rama, the
son of Dasaratha has been described as Shyama i.e. dark in complexion, so is Krishna the descendent of Yadus, another Arya clan. The
Rishi Dirghatamas who is the author of many mantras in Rig Veda must have been
dark in complexion. Kanva is an Aryan rishi of great repute. But according to
the description given in Rig Veda x.31.11 he was of dark color.
“To
take up the meaning of the word Varna Varna Varna
This
evidence from Zend Avesta, Dr.Ambedkar opines as to the meaning of the word Varna India by the Aryan race and its having conquered
the Dasas and Dasyus supposed to be natives of India
It
would need a lengthy argument to say that all humans are one, and all human
beings have a common gene called sangene in them. We have to quote extensively
from the book Journey of Man by Spencer Wells to prove that first human beings
originated in Africa and they are black.
Instead we will quote a report in The Hindu; a daily dated December 14 Saturday
2002. ‘There is bad news for those who have notions of racial or intellectual
superiority. New genetic evidence collected from across the globe shatters the
myths and adds a body of proof to the hypothesis that all people are descended from a single
man in Africa, who lived approximately 60,000 years ago. Tune in to National
Geographic Channel on TV on Sunday at 9.P.M, and come face to face with
evidence gathered by geneticist Spenser Wells and her collaborators including
R.M.Pitchaiappan of Madurai Kamaraj University.
The
fascinating Journey of Man from Africa to Central Asia, and thereon to Asia,
Australia besides separate moves westward to Europe and beyond is all
documented in a two hour special. Genetics has a way of mapping biological
reality and as Dr.Wells and fellow scientists
studied in places as varied as Artic to the Australian aborigines, they found
stunning evidence unraveled by genetic markers. Some of the evidence is found
right here at home, as the programme briefly points out.
Piramalai
Kallars, who form the majority population in Usilampatti and Thirumangalam near
Madurai
Professor
Pitchaiappan’s findings which were also backed up by similar findings about
significant levels of the same gene markers in Yadavas and Saurashtra
communities., lead to the postulation of a Cape Comerin route of migration of
Man from Africa to Australia. Some evidence also points to markers from Middle
Eastern peoples. The study by Piramalai Kallar and other communities which are
described by geneticists as sub divided gene pools, points to migratory
evidence from genetic markers such as M130 [50,000 years old] and M20, the
latter estimated to be 35,000 years old and derived from the former. The
ancestors of the Kallars might have expanded from the Middle
East , postulates Professor Pitchaiappan who heads the Department
of Immunology. Yet other markers like the M172 [ found in Baluchis and also
Yadhavas] and M17 [found in Central Asians and also in Saurastrians ] fuel the
excitement that people essentially moved over thousands of years from one part
of the globe to another, where they settled down. Features got differentiated
due to isolation of the population and climatic factors. Journey of Man unifies
the world, and let genetics do the talking, wrote The Hindu Reporter G.Ananthakrishnan.
The
spread of human race from Africa is best
illustrated in the web pages of www.bradshawfoundation.com, where they show the
chart of the spread with time frame. The fact to be borne in mind is that in
spite of prejudice destined to disappear as universal reason, scientific
progress and information age enlightening our intellect; it seems to be the
contrary in Indian society still clinging to caste prejudices.
Our
society had failed to root out prejudices. Immanuel Kant described Enlightenment
as man’s release from self incurred tutelage. We still live under such mental
tutelage accepting Aryan supremacy and our inferiority status in caste
hierarchy. It is here the argument of Ambedkar assumes great importance. If the
Aryan race theory is buried its counter theory the Dravidian theory too had to
go. It would be appropriate here to
mention that first Non-Brahmin Movement came into existence. Then it assumed
the name of Self Respect Movement before settling for the word Dravidian
movement. Dravidian movement is an uprising against the oppressors and their
theory of supremacy on earth by birth with religious sanction. Therefore
Dravidian movement could be placed among the human emancipation movements all
through the human history.
The
word India , Hindu and Indus
came from the Indus
Valley
“All
humans are one and scientific studies have revealed that there exists a common
gene in all human beings and that common gene is called sangene. The mapping of
human genes for 50 years had thrown more light on the oneness of humanity, as
theories of continental drift, especially the map fit theory, had proved beyond
an iota of doubt that all continents were held together once and drifted. So to
make all brains free from superiority complex and accept that humanity is one
and the world is one, science had to unearth mysteries. The common gene in
every human being had also proven that the theories of race are culture
oriented. While race is disproved both Aryan and Dravidian theories have to
die. Perhaps Dr.Swamy wants the Aryan concept too to die and if that were the
case, one can welcome to some extent his wishful thinking. The Second World War
waged by Hitler propounding the supremacy of the Aryan race, which he
demonstrated with the killings of millions of Jews, still reminds us that
whoever claims superiority over fellow beings in the name of his race of birth
will be taught a befitting lesson by mankind.”
Dr.Ambedkar
says that the theory of Aryan race is just an assumption and nothing more. It
is based on the philological proposition put forth by Dr.Bopp in his
epoch-making book called the Comparative Grammar which appeared in 1835. In
this book Dr.Bopp demonstrated that a greater number of languages in Europe and
some languages in Asia must be referred to
common ancestral speech. The European languages and the Asiatic languages to
which Dr.Bopp’s proposition applied are called Indo-Germanic. Collectively they
have come to be called the Aryan languages because Vedic language refers to
Aryans and is also the same family as the Indo Germanic. This assumption is the
major premise on which the theory of Aryan race is based “
It
will also be appropriate that Robert Caldwell’s Comparative Grammar of Dravidian
Languages published in 1860 led to the emergence of the word Dravidian race
that speaks Dravidian languages. Hence in the light of scientific evidences
that prove race is illusionary concept, we have to understand the struggle
between Dravidian versus Aryan as struggle between languages. At the moment
more than 73 Dravidian languages have been identified and in the quest to find
the common language of humanity, within the Nostratic School
The
grammatical principle laid out in Tholkappiam which dates back to 2872 years to
eschew Sanskrit letters and use chaste Tamizh, according to scholars is the day
the foundations for Dravidian movement is laid. It began as a fight between
Tamizh and Sanskrit, which continued in different forms all through these
centuries.
It
would be beyond the scope of this paper to discuss Aryanization or
Sanskritization of India where other cultural identities got lost, but the
script Devanagari used for Hindi demonstrates that Naga script had been adopted
for languages without a script on its own. To clear many a confusion books in
Pali language or Prakirutham apart from ancient Tamizh have to be dealt in
detail. So we leave it here after proving the Pan-Indian nature of Nagas now
reduced to Nagaland, a tiny state in North Eastern part of Indian subcontinent.
The
British Interregnum
On
the question of British and their connection with Nagas, Kaka D.Iralu says “The
Naga people were independent and their country was not subjugated by Ahom kings
of the Assam Assam or India Assam France India through the
Naga Hills, it was the cooperation of the Nagas both in intelligence and jungle
warfare which enabled the British to halt the invasion at Kohima, thus saving Assam and rest of India
The
first ever attempt by Naga people rallied under the banner of Naga club at
Kohima was to submit a memorandum to Simon Commission on 10 th January 1929. In
that memorandum they state “Before the British Government conquered our country
in 1879-1880, we were living in a state of intermittent warfare with the
Assamese of Assam Valley to the North and West of our country and the Manipuris
to the South. They never conquered us, nor were we subjected to their rule. On
the other hand, we were always a terror to these people. Our country within the
administered areas consists of more than 8 tribes, quite different from one
another with quite different languages which cannot be understood by each
other, and there are more tribes outside the administered area which are not
known at present. We have no unity among us and it is only the British
Government that is holding us together now. Our education at present is poor.
The occupation of our country by the British Government being so recent as
1880,we had no chance or opportunity to improve in education and though we can
boast of two or three graduates of an Indian University in our country, we have
not got one yet who is able to represent all our different tribes or master our
languages much less one to represent us in any council or province.
Moreover, our population numbering 10, 2000 is
very small in comparison with the population of plain districts in the
province, and any representation that may be allotted to us in the council will
be negligible and will have no weight whatever. Our language is quite different
from those of the plains and we have no social affinities with Hindus or
Muslims. We are looked down upon by the one for our beef and other for our
pork, and by both for want of education which is not due to any fault of ours.
Our country is poor and it does not pay for its administrations. Therefore if
it is continued to be placed under the Reformed Scheme we are afraid that new
and heavy taxes will have to be imposed on us and when we cannot pay them all
our lands will have to be sold and in the long run we shall have no share in
the land of our birth and life will not be worth living then. Though our land
at present is within British territory, Government have always recognized our
private rights in it, but if we are forced to enter the council of majority all
these rights may be extinguished by the unsympathetic council, the majority of
whose number is sure to belong to the plain districts.
We
also have much to fear the introduction of foreign laws and customs to
supersede our own customary laws which we now enjoy. For the above reasons we
pray that the British Government will continue to safeguard our rights against
all encroachments from other people who are more advanced than us by
withdrawing our country from the Reformed Scheme and placing it under its own
protection. If the British Government, however, wants to throw us away, we pray
that we should not be thrust to the mercy of the people who could never have
conquered us by themselves and to whom we were never subjected, but to leave us
alone to determine for ourselves as in ancient times.
We
claim, not only members of the Naga Club, to represent all those tribes to
which we belong- Angamis, Kacha Nagas, Kukis, Semas, Lothas and Rengmas “ This
memorandum was signed by Nihu of Angami tribe and 19 others.
Meanwhile
Indian Constituent Assembly in 1946 constituted a sub committee for the North
Eastern region with Gopinath Bordoloi as Chairman, N.V.Thakar, B.N.Rao
[Secretary], Rev.Nicholas Roy, T.Aliba Imti and two co-opted members Pu
Khawtinkhuma and Pu Saprawgna. This sub committee met in Shillong and all other
members except one signed to join the Indian Union. The President of Naga
National Council T.Aliba Imti refused to sign and staged a walk out. This is
also a noteworthy historical event in the Naga struggle.
On 19
th February 1947, the Naga National Council passed a resolution in which it
stated ‘Anyone who turns his eyes on the map of India
will find Assam as the
eastern most part of the sub- continent and one of her eastern districts is the
present Naga Hills . That district was carved
out of arbitrarily for administrative purposes. But the Naga people are spread
over a wider area, and they are to be found in the Naga Hills district proper,
the un-administered area between Assam
and Burma , in the small
native state of Manipur in Assam ,
in the north Cachar hills and even in contiguous parts of Burma
A
delegation of 9 Naga leaders including A.Z.Phizo met Mahatma Gandhi at Bhanghi
colony Delhi on July 19 th 1947 “If
Mahatma Gandhi had been a living man today there would not have arisen the
necessity for the Nagas to take a nation wide Plebiscite on their stand for
independence. Mahatma Gandhi considered
it was within their lawful right for the Nagas to be independent of India
“Prior
to 1947 the Naga National Council had communicated its wishes both to India and Britain
The
interim constitution of Nagaland, who had declared independence from India
The
patriotism of Nagas and their freedom loving spirit could be proved by the Naga
refusal to accept the Coupland plan aimed at creation of crown colony. The Naga
leader Phizo in his letter to then Indian Governor General C.Rajagopalachari,
dated 22 November 1948 wrote; “Our immediate problem was to fight a colonial
scheme. It was well known to Indian leaders that British wanted to establish a
colony known as North Eastern agency. The best brains of the Nagas were
wholeheartedly with the British in the scheme. That was part of their
spontaneous loyalty. The British could easily have got 100,000 square miles or
more and colonize it, protest or no protest. It was not difficult for them to get
even 200,000 square miles because much more than that was in fluid state with
the people entirely Pro-British in their attitude. This may appear to be
fantastic but a careful study of the area will show the possibility of
maintaining two parts.
One
is Manngdow-Buthidannj region with Chittakong to be a free port for some time
as the British cannot think of a state without an outlet of seaport. Then, the
other one is the Moulmein-Tavoy region to the sea where the well known loyal
British made Karens predominate with Mons Burma Burma
The Government of India took many steps to
retain Nagaland within Indian Union. The following Pact was in that direction.
The Naga problem as viewed from the Government of India’s side and its conflict
resolution attempts need to be mentioned here. Sir Akbar Hydari, Governor of Assam
Judicial
: ‘All cases whether civil or criminal arising between Nagas in the Naga Hills
will be disposed of by duly constituted Naga courts according to Naga customary
law or such law as may be introduced with the consent of duly recognized Naga
representative organizations, save that where a sentence of transportation or
death has been passed there will be a right of appeal to the Governor.
Executive:
The general principle is accepted that what the Naga council is prepared to pay
for the Naga Council should control. This principle will equally apply to the
work done as well as the staff employed. While the District Officer will be
appointed at the discretion of the Governor, sub divisions of the Naga Hills should be administered by a Sub Divisional
Council with a full time Executive President paid by the Naga council for all
matters failing within their responsibility. In regard to Agriculture- the Naga
Council will exercise all the powers now vested with the District Officer. [b]
CWD: The Naga Council would take over full control [c] Education and Forest
Department: The Naga Council is prepared to pay for all the services and staff.
Legislative
: That no laws passed by the provincial or central legislature which would
materially affect the terms of this agreement or the religious practices of the
Nagas shall have legal force in the Naga Hills without the consent of the Naga
Council. In cases of dispute as to whether any law did so affect this agreement
the matter would be referred by the Naga Council to the Governor who would then
direct that the law in question should not have legal force in the Naga Hills pending the decision of the Central
Government.
Land: The land with all its resources in the Naga Hills should not be alienated to a Non-Naga without
the consent of the Naga council.
Taxation:
The Naga Council will be responsible for the imposition, collection and
expenditure of land revenue and house tax and such other taxes as may be
imposed by the Naga Council.
Boundaries
: The present administrative divisions should be modified as to bring back into
the Naga Hills district all the forests transferred to the Sibsagar and Nowgong
Districts in the past and to bring under one unified administrative unit as far
as possible all nagas. All the areas so included would be within the scope of
the present proposed agreement. No areas should be transferred out of Naga Hills without the consent of Naga Council.
Arms
Act: The Deputy Commissioner will act on the advice of the Naga Council in
accordance with the provisions of Arms Act.
Regulations:
The Chin Hills regulations and the Bengal
Eastern Frontier Regulations will remain in force.
Period
of the Agreement: The Governor of Assam as the Agent of the Government of
Indian Union will have special responsibility for a period of 10 years to
ensure the due observance of this agreement, at the end of this period the Naga
Council will be asked whether they require the above agreement to be extended
for a further period or a new agreement regarding the future of the Naga people
arrive at.’
Certain
clauses were interpreted differently by both sides. Nagas claimed their right
to secede after 10 years and India Naga Hills
excluded area, announced a Sovereign State of Nagaland. July 4 of 1954 the Naga
Supreme Court was set up.
January
14 th of 1956 the Naga Constitution approved, so goes of the various acts aimed
in furtherance of the cause of freedom by the rebel Nagas, while Government
exhausted various ideas to keep Nagaland within Indian Union.
Indian Government handed over the
responsibility to the Indian Army in 1956. Assam Maintenance of Public Order
1953, Assam Disturbed Areas Act 1955, Armed Forces[Special Powers}regulations
1958, Armed Forces [Assam, Manipur] special Power Ordinance 1958, Nagaland
Security regulation 1962 and so many acts, so many battles, so much blood shed,
yet Naga problem remains without a logical conclusion and reasonable solution.
Let
us take a break here and land in 2008 to know the position of the Nagaland, a
truncated state, not the one it was in fifties, having been divided into Assam , Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland
states within India and Myanmar
President
Rule in Nagaland-2008
On
January 6 th of 2008 Allaying fears that President's Rule might provide free
hand to armed forces, Nagaland Governor K Shankaranarayan has said maintenance
of law and order would be his top priority.” President’s Rule means civil rule,
not army rule, where the civil administration, police and governor have to run
the government efficiently and smoothly," he said in view of some
political parties and organizations' assertion that President's Rule meant army
rule leading to sufferings of the people. Addressing a security co-ordination meeting
at police headquarters yesterday, the governor asked the police and
paramilitary forces to remain alert. Reports the Press Trust of India’s news.
Thepfulhouvi
Solo, a political commentator in Nagaland Post wrote; ‘The President Rule in
the State is not something to be proud of as some Politicians may welcome it
gloriously; it is not something as evil as some other Politicians may condemn
it. If the President Rule is welcome, it is not the Electorates that have
brought it; if it is unwelcome it is not the common Citizens that are
responsible for it. Whether good or evil; whether one likes it or not, it is
our political Representatives that are responsible for the President Rule in
Nagaland. It has come about not due to this or that Citizens becoming Unruly or
Violent; it came because our political Representatives did not carry on the
democratic processes.’
It is
regrettable, our political Representatives have not brought honor to Nagas and
we are not very proud of them for this. It appears the precious Naga
independent differing opinion from fellowman without intention to oppose is
getting eroded in today's Naga politics and any differing opinion is construed
as opposition to other's self-preservation. It is unfortunate the people and
the Media describe Party not in the Government as "Opposition Group"
as if everything in them is for Opposition. It is regrettable Nagas cannot
differ and get along in good nature with one another without being taken as a
foe; Can we differ in opinions but not opponent to one another?
President
Rule is a stopgap device, at worst a democratic step: It is not "Army
Rule" though the President is the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces.
President Rule does not continue for years indefinitely, otherwise a pleasant
tendency develops in the 'Servants' to behave like Ministers and behave like
the Master of the Feast! President Rule is an interim device modern Democracy
has devised to introduce democratic Processes of Government in the State.
Fortunately in Nagaland the Assembly Election is just at the corner and it is
hoped nothing extraneous would arise necessitating the continuance of the
President Rule beyond the necessary time.
This
is the situation of Nagaland today but at same time from the side of insurgents
there are certain disturbance developments.
Three separatist rebel groups in India's
northeast have launched a fresh initiative in 2007 to activate a pan-Mongoloid
grouping it had floated in 1990 for a joint revolutionary struggle in the
Indo-Myanmar region..
'Representatives
from the NSCN-K, ULFA and the UNLF attended the meeting in Thailand India
or Burma (Myanmar
The
NSCN-K leader, however, warned that if India
and Myanmar
Coalitions
among insurgent groups in the northeast have come up from time to time, mainly
to act as force multipliers to offset the sustained and coordinated
counter-insurgency operations by the security forces. In the mid-90s, the
Isak-Muivah faction of the NSCN had taken the initiative to form similar
fronts. The idea was aimed at turning its war against the Indian state into a
war of the nationalities of the region. To achieve this objective, the NSCN
(IM) formed the ULFSS (United Liberation Front of Seven Sisters) in 1993 and
SDUFSEHR (Self-Defense United front of the South-East Himalayan Region) in
November 1994. These two groupings too do not seem to be active now. [Syed
Zarir Hussain]
CONCLUSION:
Among
the various proposals put forth to resolve the Naga problem, a fresh idea
attracted my attention. By an unknown author in net it says ““Soon after Pakistan came into existence in 1947, irregular
armed raiders from Pakistan
infiltrated into Kashmir with a view to take
control over it by force. In terms of the Indian Independence Act 1947, the
then ruler of Jammu and Kashmir signed deed of
accession to India Jammu and Kashmir became
an integral part of India Kashmir valley.
As a
gesture of goodwill to the people of Kashmir and confident that they were with
India, the Indian leadership ordered cease fire and offered plebiscite,
provided Pakistan vacated the territory still in its illegal occupation. Pakistan Kashmir .
According
to India , since Pakistan never vacated the territory in its
illegal occupation, the plebiscite has become in fructuous and Kashmir has now
become an integral part of India India
and Pakistan Kashmir
are being subjected to violence, terrorism and instability.
Soon
after the formation of the People’s Republic of China
in 1949, the Chinese totalitarian government entered Tibet ,
then an independent nation of peace loving religious people of ethnic origin
different from that of the people of China Tibet
and over hundred thousand people have been living as refugees in India India and occupied chunks of India China Pakistan
has, in gratitude for China ’s
support to it, handed over portions of Kashmir in its illegal occupation to China Tibet
The
vibrant Naga tribal community of Northeast India
has been struggling for its identity. Part of the territory traditionally belonging
to it is presently in India
and part in Myanmar
Autonomy under joint suzerainty
A
legitimate resolution for these conflicts can be:
(1)
Integrated Kashmir, that is the portion under India and that illegally occupied
by Pakistan and a portion given by it to China, may be offered autonomy under
the joint suzerainty of India and Pakistan, provided the minority communities
votes in its favor, and autonomous Kashmir imbibes true democracy. While exercising
its veto, the Hindu and Buddhist minority communities can demand full
protection, return of their properties and insist on true local empowerment so
that their rights are not subverted. Jammu and
Ladhak can choose through referendum to remain with India
(2) Tibet may be offered autonomy under the joint
suzerainty of China and India , and integrated Naga territory autonomy
under the joint suzerainty of India
and Myanmar
(3)
Operationally, joint suzerainty will imply that Kashmir, Tibet
(4)
In true democracy, every local entity is autonomous in local matters while the
national government provides security. The above arrangement will be in keeping
with the spirit of such true democracy. Since Pakistan
has handed over a part of Kashmir to China ,
the decision for Kashmir and Tibet Kashmir ,
Tibet
Since
India liberated Bangladesh from exploitation by Pakistan , Bangladesh
clearly can have no threat from India Bangladesh India India was its
liberator, Bangladesh may
seek India
If
joint suzerainty over Kashmir and Tibet
is adopted, India and Pakistan
The
global society should support the people of China
and Myanmar Sri
Lanka South Asia
a confederation of self-reliant, peace loving local governments.
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